Bartolomeu Dias - Exploration - HISTORY.com Bartolomeu Dias A+E Networks Introduction In 1488, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias (c. 1450-1500) became the first European mariner to round the southern tip of Africa, opening the way for a sea route from Europe to Asia. Dias’ ships rounded the perilous Cape of Good Hope and then sailed around Africa’s southernmost point, Cabo das Agulhas, to enter the waters of the Indian Ocean. Portugal and other European nations already had long-established trade ties to Asia, but the arduous overland route had been closed in the 1450s due to the Ottoman Empire’s conquest of the remnants of the Byzantine Empire. A major maritime victory for Portugal, Dias’ breakthrough opened the door to increased trade with India and other Asian powers. It also prompted Genoan explorer Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), then living in Portugal, to seek a new royal patron for a mission to establish his own sea route to the Far East.

Google An Ambitious Plan Almost nothing is known about the life of Bartolomeu de Novaes Dias before 1487, except that he was at the court of João II, king of Portugal (1455-1495), and was a superintendent of the royal warehouses. He likely had much more sailing experience than his one recorded stint aboard the warship São Cristóvão. Dias was probably in his mid- to late 30s in 1486 when João appointed him to head an expedition in search of a sea route to India. Did You Know? According to Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus (c. 484-c. 425 B.C.), Egyptian pharaoh Necho II (d. 595 B.C.) sent Phoenician sailors out from the Arabian Gulf to sail around the African continent. Their journey took three years. João was entranced by the legend of Prester John, a mysterious and probably apocryphal 12th-century leader of a nation of Christians somewhere in Africa. João sent out a pair of explorers, Afonso de Paiva (c. 1460-c.

1490) and Pêro da Covilhã (c. 1450-c. 1526), to search overland for the Christian kingdom in Ethiopia. João also wanted to find a way around the southernmost point of Africa’s coastline, so just a few months after dispatching the overland explorers, he sponsored Dias in an African expedition. In August 1487, Dias’ trio of ships departed from the port of Lisbon, Portugal. Dias followed the route of 15th-century Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão (c. 1450-c. 1486), who had followed the coast of Africa as far as present-day Cape Cross, Namibia. Dias’ cargo included the standard “padrões,” the limestone markers used to stake Portuguese claims on the continent. Padrões were planted at the shoreline and served as guideposts to previous Portuguese explorations of the coast. Dias’ expedition party included six Africans who had been brought to Portugal by earlier explorers. Dias dropped off the Africans at different ports along the coastline of Africa with supplies of gold and silver and messages of goodwill from the Portuguese to the indigenous people.

The last two Africans were left at a place the Portuguese sailors called Angra do Salto, probably in modern Angola, and the expedition’s supply ship was left there under guard of nine men. The Expedition Around South Africa In early January 1488, as Dias’ two ships sailed off the coast of South Africa, storms blew them away from the coast. Dias is thought to have ordered a turn to the south of about 28 degrees, probably because he had prior knowledge of southeasterly winds that would take him around the tip of Africa and keep his ships from being dashed on the notoriously rocky shoreline. João and his predecessors had obtained navigational intelligence, including a 1460 map from Venice that showed the Indian Ocean on the other side of Africa. Dias’ decision was risky, but it worked. The crew spotted landfall on February 3, 1488, about 300 miles east of present-day Cape of Good Hope. They found a bay they called São Bras (present-day Mossel Bay) and the much warmer waters of the Indian Ocean.

From the shoreline, indigenous Khoikhoi pelted Dias’ ships with stones until an arrow fired by either Dias or one of his men felled a tribesman. Dias ventured further along the coastline, but his crew was nervous about the dwindling food supplies and urged him to turn back. As mutiny loomed, Dias appointed a council to decide the matter. The members came to the agreement that they would permit him to sail another three days, then turn back. At Kwaaihoek, in present-day Eastern Cape province, they planted a padrão on March 12, 1488, which marked the easternmost point of Portuguese exploration. On the journey back, Dias observed the southernmost point of Africa, later called Cabo das Agulhas, or Cape of Needles. Dias named the rocky second cape Cabo das Tormentas (Cape of Storms) for the tempestuous storms and strong Atlantic-Antarctic currents that made ship travel so perilous. Back in Angra do Salto, Dias and his crew were aghast to find that only three of the nine men left guarding the food ship had survived repeated attacks by locals; a seventh man died on the journey home.

In Lisbon, after 15 months at sea and a journey of nearly 16,000 miles, the returning mariners were met by triumphant crowds. In a private meeting with the king, however, Dias was forced to explain his failure to meet up with Paiva and Covilhã. Despite his immense achievement, Dias was never again put in a position of authority. João ordered that henceforth, maps would show the new name for Cabo das Tormentas–Cabo da Boa Esperança, or Cape of Good Hope. Advisor to Vasco da Gama Following his expedition, Dias settled for a time in Guinea in West Africa, where Portugal had established a gold-trading site. João’s successor, Manuel I (1469-1521), ordered Dias to serve as a shipbuilding consultant for the expedition of Vasco da Gama (c. 1460-1524). Dias sailed with the da Gama expedition as far as the Cape Verde Islands, then returned to Guinea. Da Gama’s ships reached their goal of India in May 1498, nearly a decade after Dias’ historic trip around the tip of Africa.

Afterward, Manuel sent out a massive fleet to India under Pedro Álvares Cabral (c. 1467-c. 1520), and Dias captained four of the ships. They reached Brazil in March 1500, then headed across the Atlantic toward South Africa and, further ahead, the Indian subcontinent. At the feared Cabo das Tormentas, storms struck the fleet of 13 ships. In May 1500, four of the ships were wrecked, including Dias’, with all crew lost at sea. Tags First to sail around the world Home » vehicles » First to sail around the world First to sail around the world The Age of Discovery was led by the the great sea adventurers in their search for a route to spice markets of the Far East when the eastern Mediterranean were blocked by powerful rivals. When Vasco da Gama sailed around the Cape of Good Hope to reach India in 1498, the Portuguese concentrated their efforts to the south and east. The Spanish, who agreed to divide the world in two with the Portuguese in the Treaty of Tordesillas on 7 June 1494, sailed west.

They were not aware of the American continents and no one knew there was a Pacific Ocean. The New World Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), an Italian who had moved to Spain, theorized that since the earth was a sphere, a ship could reach the Far East from the opposite direction. He convinced the monarchs to sponsor his search, setting sail in August 1492 with a fleet of three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the flagship Santa Maria. After 10 weeks, he sighted an island in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador. Thinking he had found islands near Japan, he sailed on until he reached Cuba (which he thought was China) and Haiti. He encountered dark-skinned peoples whom he called “Indians” because he assumed he had been sailing in the Indian Ocean. Columbus made 3 more voyages to the New World which he thought was the East, in 1493, 1497 and 1502, exploring Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Jamaica, and Trinidad. He never reached North America, and until he died, thought he had reached Asia. Replica of the Santa Maria.

Photo via Library of Congress North America already discovered Columbus did not know but Viking ships reached North America almost 500 year before he had set sail. Sailing from Iceland in mid-990, Biarni Heriolfsson was blown off course and located an unknown land. He did not explore or name it. In 1002 Leifr Eiriksson backtracked Biarni’s course and reached the coast of present-day Canada. Eiriksson then sailed south and discovered an island he called Vinland (present-day Newfoundland) where he established a colony and traded for 3 years with the native population known as Skraelings. The Skraelings eventually forced them to leave, but the Vikings continued to sail to Canada for timber. “New Found Land” In 1497, King Henry VII granted John Cabot (1450-1498) a charter to explore. On 2 May Cabot and a crew of 18 left Bristol, England in a small ship called The Matthew. Cabot sailed farther north than Columbus did, out of the way of the Spanish territories. On 24 June the crew sighted land.

Cabot was convinced he had found an island off the coast of Asia and named it “new found land.” It was the first documented landing in Newfoundland since the Viking voyages. Cabot returned to England on 6 August 1497, and although he brought no spices or treasure back with him, he was the first to map out the North American coast. Replica of Cabot’s The Matthew. Naming “America” Amerigo Vespucci The Portuguese-Spanish dividing line ran through the Atlantic with Spain gaining lands to the west, including the Americas. Brazil was granted to Portugal, who gained eastern Africa and India. But without accurate measurements, the question on the exact line persisted. In 1501, King Manuel I of Portugal dispatched fleets to Brazil, one of the officers being the Italian Amerigo Vespucci. He was among the first explorers to report that South America was a continent, not an island, calling it the “New World”. An excellent mapmaker, Vespucci sold copies of his maps to German cartographer Martin Waldseemuller, who, when reproducing it in 1507, gave Vespucci credit by writing his first name on the South American continent.

Thus the southern continent became known as “America”. The first circumnavigation The first circumnavigation of the globe was led by Ferdinand Magellan, who was born in Oporto, Portugal in 1480. In 1505, Magellan enlisted in the navy where he learned seamanship and naval warfare under Portuguese viceroys in India. In 1509, he took part in the Battle of Die, which gave Portugal supremacy over the Indian Ocean. For 7 years he traded from Cochin, China and Malacca. Like Columbus before him, Magellan believed he would reach the Far East by sailing west. Snubbed by the Portuguese king, Magellan convinced the Spanish king, Charles I that at least some of the Spice Islands lay in the Spanish half of the undiscovered world. In September 1519 Magellan set sail with 280 men on 5 ships (San Antonio, Santiago, Trinidad, Victoria, and Concepcion) on a voyage fraught with hardship and mutiny. An Italian nobleman on the ship, Antonio Pigafetta, kept a diary of the voyage. They crossed the equator on 20 November 1519 and sighted Brazil on 6 December.

Magellan thought it unwise to go near the Portuguese territory since he was sailing under the Spanish flag and anchored near present-day Rio de Janiero on 13th December. They were greeted by Guarani Indians who believed the white men to be gods and showered them with goods. After stocking up, they sailed south, reaching Patagonia (Argentina) in March 1520. The Santiago was sent to explore further south and was lost in a gale. In August, Magellan decided it was time to move further south to look for a passage through to the east. By October they sighted a strait. During the passage, the captain of San Antonia turned his ship back toward Spain, taking most of the fleet’s provisions. Into the vast Pacific The remaining 3 ships emerged from the strait to the Pacific by end-November. Magellan thought the Spice Islands were a short voyage away but they sailed for 96 days without sighting land. Conditions aboard the ships were abominable. The crew survived on sawdust, leather strips, and rats. Finally, in January 1521, they stopped off at an island to feast. In March, they reached Guam.

The Armada de Maluco reached the Philippines (which Magellan named San Lazaro) on 15 March 1521. He anchored at Suluan on 16 March and went to Homonhon on 17 March. On 28 March 1521 Magellan and his fleet made landfall at Mazaua. After befriending an island king, Magellan foolishly got involved in a tribal war and was killed in battle on 27 April 1521. Sebastian del Cano took command of the ships and 115 survivors. Because there were not enough men to crew 3 ships, he burned the Concepcion. They sailed to the Moluccas (Spice Islands) in November, loading valuable spices. To guarantee that at least one ship would make it back to Spain, the Trinidad went east across the Pacific, while the Victoria continued west. The Trinidad was seized by the Portuguese and most of her crew were killed. The Victoria managed to elude the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean and rounded the Cape of Good Hope.

On 6 September 1522, almost three years from the day it began its historic journey, the Victoria and 18 crew members (Pigafetta among them) arrived in Spain. They were the first to circumnavigate the globe. When the Victoria’s spices were auctioned, the income was high enough to cover all the expenses of the voyage and even produce profit. Nao Victoria replica, built 1992. Img Wikipedia Victoria Vicente de Jesus contributed to this article as follows: “On March 28, 1521 Magellan and his fleet made landfall at Mazaua, a mystery island that is the object of a controversy parallel to the Columbus first landfall question. My studies show Mazaua is in 9 degrees N. A team of geologists, geomorphologist and archaeologist was hired in year 2000 to search for the isle and have discovered a most improbable thing: an isle that has been fused with mainland Mindanao at Butuan City. We hope to excavate and find authentic remnants of Magellan’s visit.

If indeed this was Mazaua, there’s no question there will be material proof of Magellan’s having been to this isle.” Image shows the replica of the flagship Trinidad, the ship in which Ferdinand Magellan led the first circumnavigation of the world. The correct Portuguese name of Ferdinand Magellan is Fernao do Magalhaes. The family coat of arms of Magalhaes are Argent, three fesses chequy Gules and Or. Fernao wasn’t the head of the main branch but the family line continues to this day. The second circumnavigation The second circumnavigation of the globe was accomplished by the pirate-turned-explorer Englishman Francis Drake (1540-1596). Seeing Spain amassing a new vast empire, Queen Elizabeth I secretly sent Drake to the west, with the added intent to harass the Spanish. On 13 December 1577 Drake sailed from Plymouth, England with 6 ships under his command. In September 1578 five of the ships turned back at the Strait of Magellan while Drake sailed on in the Golden Hind.

By June 1579 he had reached the coast of present-day California and sailed as far north as the present-day United States-Canadian border. He then turned southwest and crossed the Pacific Ocean in 2 months. He voyaged through the Indies, across the Indian Ocean, and around the Cape of Good Hope. With the Golden Hind laden with gold and spices, he sailed into Plymouth on 26 September 1580, the first captain to circumnavigate the globe. Captain Cook Another famous circumnavigation was that of James Cook. He sailed from England on 25 August 1768 aboard the Endeavour with 94 crewmen and scientists. On 11 April 1769, they reached Tahiti. On government orders, they sailed south, reaching New Zealand on 6 October. By April 1770, Cook explored and documented Australia. The Endeavour then made its way to Java, sailing on past the Cape of Good Hope. On 13 July 1771 Cook sailed into Dover. Following the historic 3-year journey, he was appointed Naval Commander by King George III.

First solo circumnavigation Joshua Slocum, who was born in Nova Scotia in 1844, became an American citizen and Captain Slocum at age 25. On 24 April 1895, at 51-year old, Slocum sailed out of Boston in his 11m (37ft) sloop Spray, a decrepit oyster dredger that he had rebuilt himself. Slocum crossed the Atlantic toward the Suez Canal. In Gibraltar, he was warned of pirates in the Mediterranean. So, he started back across the Atlantic, and headed down the Brazilian coast, through the hellish Strait of Magellan. He faced deadly currents, rocky coasts and heavy seas as he sailed around Australia, the Cape of Good Hope, and across the Atlantic. On 27 June 1898, more than 3 years and 74000km (46,000 miles) later, Joshua Slocum entered Newport, Rhode Island, as the first man to sail around the world solo. Joshua Slocum’s Spray.

Img Wikipedia Spray Later, planning a voyage up the Amazon, Slocum set sail from Vineyard Haven on November 14, 1909, but he was lost with his ship. First around with only one stop The honor of being the first to sail around the world alone with only one stop went to Francis Chichester (1902-1972). In 1966, the 64-year old Chichester sailed his 16m (53ft) ketch Gypsy Moth IV from England. The steering mechanism broke 3 700km (2,300 miles ) from Australia. Soon after leaving Sydney, the Gipsy capsized but righted itself. Around the Cape Horn, Chichester faced 15m (50ft) high waves. But he was not a man to step back from a challenge. In 1960, he was the winner of the first single-hand transatlantic race. Chichester also made the world’s first solo long distance flight in a seaplane (England to Australia).

On 28 May 1967, after 226 days at sea, he was welcomed back by a half-million people at Plymouth, England. First solo non-stop circumnavigation From Wikipedia : “On 14 June 1968 Robin Knox-Johnston left Falmouth, UK in his 32-foot (9.8-meter) boat Suhaili, one of the smallest boats to enter the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Despite losing his self-steering gear off Australia, he rounded Cape Horn on 17 January 1969, 20 days before his closest competitor Bernard Moitessier, who subsequently abandoned the race and sailed on to Tahiti. The other seven competitors dropped out at various stages, leaving Knox-Johnston to win the race and become officially the first man to circumnavigate the globe non-stop and single-handed on 22 April 1969, the day he returned to Falmouth.” Robin Knox-Johnston, Suhaili, first solo circumnavigation. Around alone Today, sailing single-handedly non-stop around the world grabs the imagination more than ever.

Chay Blyth, nicknamed “the man of steel” became one of few when he sailed against the winds around the world from east to west aboard the ketch British Steel in 1971, completing the voyage in 302 days. Two years later Frenchman Alain Colas aboard his trimaran Manureva circumnavigated around the 3 great capes, taking only 129 days to complete the voyage. The first woman to sail solo around the world was Krystyna Chojnowska- Liskiewicz, starting the journey in the Canary Islands on February 28, 1976 and completing it there 401 days later, on April 2, 1978. In 1979, 29-year-old Naomi James braved the seas for 272 days to become the first woman to circumnavigate the globe via Cape Horn, the classic “Clipper Route.” The first woman to circumnavigate the world single-handed non-stop was Kay Cottee , completing the 189-day feat on June, 5 1998.

On 21 May 2008, Adrian Flanagan became the first person to complete a single-handed, vertical circumnavigation, covering the 31 000 miles in 405 days 18 hours 50 minutes. Australian Jon Sanders circumnavigated the globe 9 times single-handedly, the ninth time in 2015 at age 75. He also achieved a remarkable non-stop triple circumnavigation between May 1986 and March 1988, covering 131,535km (71,023 nautical miles) – the longest distance ever sailed continuously by any vessel. His other records, according to his Wikipedia page, includes: First solo circumnavigation trip east to west mostly sailing through tropics (1970). The first single-handed sailor to remain continuously at sea twice around the world (1981 – 1982). First circumnavigation of Antarctica, circling the continent twice in 1981 – 1982. First single-handed sailor to round the five southern most Capes twice on one voyage. First single-handed sailor to round the five southern most Capes twice.

Longest distance continuously sailed by any yacht: 48,510 miles (78,070 km). Longest period alone at sea during a continuous voyage: 419 days: 22 hours: 10 minutes. The circumnavigation contests Circumnavigation had become the rage, as with the Whitbread race, now known as the Volvo Ocean Race . In 1982, British company BOC Gasses launched the BOC Challenge single-handed race around the world, with stops: “One person, One boat, Around the world.” It was renamed AroundAlone in 1998 but continued as the Velux 5 Oceans in 2006. The race is managed by Clipper Events, who also handle the Clipper Race . In 1989, two times winner of the BOC Challenge, Frenchman Philippe Jeantot, launched the idea of a single-handed non-stop race around the world. The Vendee Globe is extreme, the “official supplier of legends.” The finish line literally is a world away.

The Barcelona World Race , since 2007, is a non-stop around the world yacht race along the Clipper route for a crew of two. Factoids In 120AD, Egyptian mathematician and astronomer Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus) invents a number of projections whereby an area on the curved surface of the Earth can be represented on a flat surface. His geography is introduced in Europe in 1406 and with the invention of the printing press in 1450 his plans are published and widely accepted. Shipping company Cunard Laconia introduced the first around-the-world cruise on the Laconia in 1922. More about cruise liners . The quest to become the first to circumnavigate the earth in a hot air balloon History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History THE APARTHEID ERA The beginning,... The oldest evidence of Homo Sapiens itself such as footprints dating back 117,000 years and collections of bones dating back 80,000, was found in the region of present day Cape Town, especially in the mountains north of the city.

The famous fossilized scull of one of the very first ancestors of humankind, believed to be 2,5 million years, old known today as Mrs. Ples. History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History copyright © South African tourism Hard evidence of the first human communities that lived in South Africa and also in the Cape region is the rich legacy of rock and cave paintings that are to be found all over the country, some of it dating back as far as 27,000 years ago. We know them as the San (Bushmen) and the Khoikhoi (Hottentot) people. In small communities of around 20 people, the San people were hunter-gatherers, living a highly mobile nomadic life, dispersed over a vast area. The Khoikhoi people on the other hand were herders of cattle and sheep and therefore able to live in larger groups, leading a more stable and home based life.

Battle Cave, ancient home of the San people in the Injusati valley, Drakensberg mountains History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History copyright © South African tourism The first known written record of the Cape Town area which includes the Peninsula, Table Bay and False Bay comes from the hand of Portuguese seafarer and discoverer. Sailing southward, following the western coastline of Africa, he and his crew were the first Europeans to reach and explore the southern tip of the African continent in 1488, after enduring an extremely ferocious storm. It is believed that because of this terrible experience, he gave the tip of the Peninsula the name Cabo Tormentosa (Cape of Storms), as it is sometimes still called today. Later however, it was replaced by the name Cabo da Boa Esperance (Cape of Good Hope) , to implying the hope that the maritime route to the Far East was clear. Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias and his crew rounding the Cape in stormy seas History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History << Top of Page The arrival of the Europeans,...

This hope was fulfilled 10 years later when another Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama completed Bartholomeu Dias' journey, sailing from Portugal and rounding the Cape of Storms on his way to India, proving that a sea route to the East was a feasible proposition. Because the overland trade routes between Europe and Asia were often cut off by warfare, the new sea route soon became highly popular and eventually developed into one of the busiest arteries of world trade. The first European to actually set foot on land in Table Bay was Antonio de Saldanha in 1503, also a Portuguese seafarer. He gave Table Mountain its name, calling it "Taboa da caba" (table of the cape), which became Table Mountain. A replica of the ship in which in which Portuguese seafarer Bartolomeu Dias rounded the southern tip of Africa in 1488 History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History copyright © South African tourism Throughout the 16th century the Portuguese and later also the Spanish continued to dominate the trade route around the cape.

They never showed any interest of establishing on-land settlements, because firstly they feared the local inhabitants the San end the Khoi as well as the reputation of the Cape of Storms. Secondly they were eager to travel to India, turn around and get back to Europe as fast as possible, in order to cash in their profits in the European harbors. So for up to 160 years after its discovery, the Peninsula remained unaffected by the vast stream of goods and people that sailed around its shores. The Noord-Nieuwland in Table Bay, 1762 painting with Table Mountain in the background History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History In 1600 the English founded the English East India Company (EEIC) followed soon by the Dutch setting up the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1602. Although both became powerful trading companies it was the VOC who eventually controlled the flow of trade and commerce rounding the Cape from Europe to the East and vice versa. The English did make some use of the Cape for re-provisioning their ships.

But in the end it was the Dutch VOC that decided to establish a permanent halfway refreshment station for their ships on their way to the east and back. They appointed one of their commanders Jan van Riebeeck as governor of the new settlement. He arrived in Table bay on 6 April 1952. Painting by Charles Bell depicting the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck in the Cape History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History To fill the need for laborers the Dutch started in 1654 to bring in Asian exiles and slaves from their colonies Java and Madagascar. They are the foundation of the Cape Malay and Cape Colored communities in the cape as we know them today. In 1666 work began to replace the wooden fort that Van Riebeeck and his people had built. The new castle built largely with bricks brought in from Holland was completed in 1679. In that year Jan van Riebeeck was replaced by a new governor, Simon van der Stel. As amateur viticulturist van der Stel brought his own grape vines from Holland, which he used to grow his own grapes and make his own wine.

He is seen as the founder of the wine industry in the cape. 1680 Sketch of the Castle of Good Hope History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History The year saw 1688 the arrival the French Huguenots. Persecuted in France by the Catholics, they had fled to Holland. Looking for settlers to bolster the population of the colony in the Cape, the VOC offered them farmland and free passage. Bringing their extensive French wine production skills with them, they proved to be a great boost for the Cape's viticulture for many years to come. The famous Franschhoek valley, wine heartland of South Africa hemmed in by mountains History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History copyright © South-Africa-tours-and-travel.com << Top of Page The 1700s,... In 1780 war broke out between France and Great Britain. By that time the Cape settlement contained a population of around 6,000 Europeans and 7,000 slaves. The Netherlands choose sides with France in the war, which resulted in a detachment of French soldiers to be shipped to the Cape to safeguard the colony against the British.

However, they left again in 1785. In 1795 Holland was invaded and conquered by the French under Napoleon and became the Dutch Batavian Republic under French control. This had serious consequences for the continuance of the cape settlement. Especially because the VOC which had been in decline since 1780, ended up in a bankrupt financial wreck in that same year. The Prince of Orange who had taken refuge in Great Britain, had asked the British to send a military force to the Cape to protect it against the French. The British, keen to expand their colonial might, were eager to oblige. And so the Cape Colony became British. The Arrival of the French Generals Jarmin and Collineau at Sea Point House in April 1860 History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History Courtesy: Hilton T @ Flickr << Top of Page The 1800 and 1900s,... The war between France and England ended in 1802 and the Cape was given back to the Dutch. When the war flared up again three years later, The British returned to the Cape. With victory for the British, this war ended in 1814.

By this time the British had no intention to return the Cape to the Dutch. They offered the virtually bankrupt Dutch government a large sum of money and other possessions. The Dutch were not in a position to argue and they accepted on the condition that they could continue to use the Cape as a replenishment and repairs station for their ships. And so the Cape became a British colony. In 1829 a number of discriminatory bylaws were repealed and in 1834 slavery was abolished and all the slaves were liberated. In theory all races were now equal to the Europeans. Table bay around the year 1900 History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History Courtesy: Hilton T @ Flickr There was much resistance by the Dutch population, who later called themselves "Afrikaners", against the liberal winds of change. This led to one of the most important and significant episodes in the history of the Cape and also that of South Africa, "The Great Trek". The Great Trek migration started in 1836 and lasted until about 1845. Wanting to break away from British rule more than 10,000 Dutch families left the cape for the interior of the country in search of freedom and independence.

1840 saw another milestone in the history of cape Town, with the institution of the Cape Town municipality with a population at that time of just over 20,000. The discovery of diamonds in Griqualand West in the 1870s and gold at the Witwatersrand in the Transvaal in the 1870s led to unprecedented urban growth and consequently a flood of immigrants. Greenmarket Square in 1889 History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History Courtesy: Hilton T @ Flickr Realizing that there was great riches for the taking beyond the borders of the Cape, the British started focusing their attention towards the interior. Inevitably this led to conflicts with the "Voortrekkers" or "Boers" as the newly established Dutch Community in the interior regions were calling themselves. What followed was a further momentous event in South African history, the two Anglo-Boer wars. The first one from 16 December 1980 to 23 March 1881 was won by the Boers with the British, not prepared for this war, eager to sign a peace treaty.

The second one from 11 October 1899 to 31 may 1902 ended in clear victory for the British. Adderley Street, Cape Town in the early 1900s History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History Courtesy: Hilton T @ Flickr With the British having gained control over the whole of South Africa with Johannesburg and Kimberley as the country's industrial and economic powerhouses, the status and position of Cape Town and the Cape Colony changed. With the unification of the Colony of Natal, the Orange Free state and Transvaal republics and the Cape Colony into the Union of South Africa 1910, the Cape Colony became in fact a province within the Union. Cape Town became the capital of the province and legislative capital of the Union and later on also legislative capital of the republic of South Africa. In 1872 The Cape received self-government rights and all residents regardless of race could vote on the condition that they were property-owners. Corner Strand and Burg Streets 1862, watercolor by T.W.

Bowler History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History Courtesy: Hilton T @ Flickr << Top of Page 1910 to 1948,... The early 1900s saw Cape Town growing fast into a modern city with a highly diverse population including a variety of Coloured, African and English and Afrikaans speaking people. It was also a period within which old racial prejudices came alive again and together with new laws and regulations caused increasing discrimination and separation between races. "Afrikaner" nationalism grew stronger and stronger and by 1948 the National Party won the national elections under the rallying cry of "Die swart gevaar" (the black danger), on a podium of racial segregation as official government policy. The torrent of racial legislation that followed, categorizing and controlling the South African people by race group, marked the start of the infamous apartheid years which lasted until 1994.

Victoria road near Clifton with the Twelve Apostles in the background History of Cape Town South Africa, Cape of Good Hope History Courtesy: Hilton T @ Flickr After the Apartheid era , tourists and visitors started to return Cape Town, inciting unparalleled development of the city, turning it into one of the top 5 tourist destinations in the world. Vasco da Gama - Exploration - HISTORY.com Vasco da Gama A+E Networks Introduction The Portuguese nobleman Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) sailed from Lisbon in 1497 on a mission to reach India and open a sea route from Europe to the East. After sailing down the western coast of Africa and rounding the Cape of Good Hope, his expedition made numerous stops in Africa before reaching the trading post of Calicut, India, in May 1498. Da Gama received a hero’s welcome back in Portugal, and was sent on a second expedition to India in 1502, during which he brutally clashed with Muslim traders in the region. Two decades later, da Gama again returned to India, this time as Portuguese viceroy; he died there of an illness in late 1524.

Google Vasco da Gama’s Early Life and First Voyage to India Born circa 1460, Vasco da Gama was the son of a minor nobleman who commanded the fortress at Sines, located on the coast of the Alentejo province in southwestern Portugal. Little else is known about his early life, but in 1492 King John II sent da Gama to the port city of Setubal (south of Lisbon) and to the Algarve region to seize French ships in retaliation for French attacks on Portuguese shipping interests. Did You Know? By the time Vasco da Gama returned from his first voyage to India in 1499, he had spent more than two years away from home, including 300 days at sea, and had traveled some 24,000 miles. Only 54 of his original crew of 170 men returned with him; the majority (including da Gama's brother Paolo) had died of illnesses such as scurvy.

In 1497, John’s successor, King Manuel I (crowned in 1495), chose da Gama to lead a Portuguese fleet to India in search of a maritime route from Western Europe to the East. At the time, the Muslims held a monopoly of trade with India and other Eastern nations, thanks to their geographical position. Da Gama sailed from Lisbon that July with four vessels, traveling south along the coast of Africa before veering far off into the southern Atlantic in order to avoid unfavorable currents. The fleet was finally able to round the Cape of Good Hope at Africa’s southern tip in late November, and headed north along Africa’s eastern coast, making stops at what is now Mozambique, Mombasa and Malindi (both now in Kenya). With the help of a local navigator, da Gama was able to cross the Indian Ocean and reach the coast of India at Calicut (now Kozhikode) in May 1498. Relations with Local Population & Rival Traders Though the local Hindu population of Calicut initially welcomed the arrival of the Portuguese sailors (who mistook them for Christians), tensions quickly flared after da Gama offered their ruler a collection of relatively cheap goods as an arrival gift.

This conflict, along with hostility from Muslim traders, led Da Gama to leave without concluding a treaty and return to Portugal. A much larger fleet, commanded by Pedro Alvares Cabral, was dispatched to capitalize on da Gama’s discoveries and secure a trading post at Calicut. After Muslim traders killed 50 of his men, Cabral retaliated by burning 10 Muslim cargo vessels and killing the nearly 600 sailors aboard. He then moved on to Cochin, where he established the first Portuguese trading post in India. In 1502, King Manuel put da Gama in charge of another Indian expedition, which sailed that February. On this voyage, da Gama attacked Arab shipping interests in the region and used force to reach an agreement with Calicut’s ruler. For these brutal demonstrations of power, da Gama was vilified throughout India and the region. Upon his return to Portugal, by contrast, he was richly rewarded for another successful voyage. Da Gama’s Later Life and Last Voyage to India Da Gama had married a well-born woman sometime after returning from his first voyage to India; the couple would have six sons.

For the next 20 years, da Gama continued to advise the Portuguese ruler on Indian affairs, but he was not sent back to the region until 1524, when King John III appointed him as Portuguese viceroy in India. Da Gama arrived in Goa with the task of combating the growing corruption that had tainted the Portuguese government in India. He soon fell ill, and in December 1524 he died in Cochin. His body was later taken back to Portugal for burial there. Tags Cape of Good Hope history, with Vasco da Gama and Bartolomeu Dias Brief history of the Cape of Good Hope With the diversity of the South Africa's population in the back of one's mind, it is good to know that the first white people arrived in the country at the Cape of Good Hope, long after the black people did. That was in 1486 when Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias and his crew were the first Europeans to sail around the southern point of the continent of Africa. He named it: The Cape of Good Hope ("Cabo de Boa Esperanca"). Because it was hoped that it would clear the way to India, which would simplify trade with the East.

Nine years were to pass before Vasco da Gama, another Portuguese seafarer, also attempted a voyage around the southern point of Africa on his way to India. Once again the seafarers met up with Khoi people and some of Vasco da Gama's crew were hurt in a skirmish with them. Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu dias and his crew rounding the Cape in stormy seas Cape of Good Hope history, with Vasco da Gama and Bartolomeu Dias The Khoi were prepared to trade with the seafarers but, because of communication problems and misunderstandings, there were many problems and disagreements between the two groups. On 25 December 1497, Da Gama reached the coast of Pondoland and called it "Natal", meaning "Christmas". Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama Cape of Good Hope history, with Vasco da Gama and Bartolomeu Dias Although the Portuguese were the first to travel around the Cape, they were not seriously interested in southern Africa. They were wary of the indigenous population and the weather at the Cape was sometimes treacherous and dangerous.

Some of the early Portuguese seafarers referred to the Cape as "The Cape of Storms" and preferred not to sail around it. Furthermore, as far as trade was concerned, South Africa offered very little, gold had not yet been discovered and, except for the presence of the Khoi people, the southern point of Africa seemed deserted and without promise. Painting of Vasco da Gama's ship Cape of Good Hope history, with Vasco da Gama and Bartolomeu Dias In June 1580, nearly a hundred years later, Sir Francis Drake sailed past the Cape. He was on a voyage around the world, commissioned by Elizabeth I of England. It was winter, the weather was calm and the landscape serene. The sight inspired Sir Francis Drake to utter the following words: "This Cape is a most stately thing and the fairest Cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth." More British expeditions followed and other European countries soon followed in their footsteps.

The Cape is not the most southern tip of Africa Cape of Good Hope history, with Vasco da Gama and Bartolomeu Dias In the first half of the 17th century, it was mainly the English and the Dutch who made use of the route around the Cape for trading purposes. Danish and French ships also made stopovers to replenish their water supplies and to stock up with fresh produce. Although the English, French and Dutch East India Companies all toyed with the idea of establishing a base at the Cape in the 17th century, it was the Dutch who finally took the plunge. Explorers for Kids: Vasco da Gama Born: 1460 in Sines, Portugal Died: December 23, 1524 in Kochi, India Best known for: The first European to sail from Europe to India around Africa Biography: Vasco da Gama (1460 - 1524) was a Portuguese explorer. He led the first expedition that traveled from Europe to India by sailing around Africa. Where did Vasco da Gama grow up? Vasco da Gama was born in a small coastal town in Portugal named Sines.

His father was a knight and an explorer. He followed in his father's footsteps and soon commanded ships in the king's name. A Trade Route to India Spices from India were very popular in Europe, however, the only way to travel from Europe to India was over land. This was a long and expensive trip. The King of Portugal figured if he could find a way to get to India by sailing on the ocean, he would become rich trading spices in Europe. An explorer by the name of Bartolemeu Dias had discovered the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa. It was thought that there may be a way around the Cape and to the northeast towards India. However, many were skeptical and thought that the Indian Ocean did not connect with the Atlantic Ocean. Vasco da Gama was given a fleet of ships by the king and told to find a trade route around Africa to India. He was also told to find any other trading opportunities along the way. The First Voyage Vasco da Gama left on his first voyage from Lisbon, Portugal on July 8, 1497.

He had 170 men and 4 ships: the Sao Gabriel, Sao Rafael, the Berrio, and a fourth ship unnamed and used for storage. Route traveled by da Gama on his first voyage Map by Ducksters Click to see larger view The expedition rounded the southern tip of Africa at the Cape of Good Hope on November 22. They then headed north up the coast of Africa. They stopped at trading ports along the way including Mombasa and Malindi. At Malindi they gained a local navigator who knew the direction to India. With the help of a Monsoon wind they were able to cross the Indian Ocean and arrive in Calicut, India in less than a month. At Calicut, Vasco ran into issues when trying to trade. He had brought little of value in his ships. This made the local traders suspicious. Soon he had to leave. The voyage back was disastrous. Around half of his crew died from scurvy as the trip back took much longer. However, when he returned home, he was a hero. He had found the much needed trade route to India. Later Voyages Vasco da Gama commanded two more fleets to India.

The second voyage was more of a military expedition where he captured Arab ships and tried to show the might of the Portuguese navy. On the third voyage Vasco was to take over as Viceroy of Portuguese India. However, he died of malaria shortly after arriving. Fun Facts about Vasco da Gama Originally Vasco's father, Estevao, was going to be given the command of the exploration fleet, but the trip was delayed for many years. Eventually, the command was given to his son Vasco instead. There is a crater named Vasco da Gama on the Moon. His fleet on the second voyage consisted of 20 armed ships. He had six sons and one daughter. His second son became governor of Portuguese India. Activities Take a ten question quiz about this page. More Explorers:

Question: Who was the first to reach Asia by sailing all the way around the Cape of Good Hope?
Answer: VASCO DA GAMA